Care givers indulging children with processed snacks and drinks are leading them in death’s path. Studies linking high sugar intake in children with obesity have shown disturbing health consequences for infants and young children hooked on snack foods such as cookies, sweetened cereals, soft drinks, salty crisps and candy. In a study on weaning practices among Nigerian women conducted by researchers from the University of Ibadan; it was discovered that children aged 6-18 months were given soft drinks a… Read more

A grandmother, Hauwa Dauda, is locked in a battle with her son-in-law, Abdulhameed Abdullahi, for the custody of her three-year-old grandchild, whose mother remarried. The woman had gone to Sharia Court II, Magajin Gari, Kaduna, asking it to grant her custody of the child. Her lawyer, Kabir Alhassan, told the court: “My client wants the court to grant her custody of her grandchild as stipulated in the Shari’a law and compel the father to take responsibility of the child.” The… Read more

A girl is not an earthen pot which is tapped at the bottom to confirm its strength. But Amina Musa's parents did not know that. Hence they pawned her off to Aliyu, a fish merchant and benefactor, who paid her bride price soon after she clocked 10. Like earthen pot, Amina cracked at the bottom. Four years after she married and divorced 47-year-old Aliyu, she has been unable to conceive of another child. Although the 10-year-old had a child by… Read more

Dear Child, I understand that school has become the rattlesnake that swallows its own tail, the ethical swamp where teachers lead scholars to absorb criminal etiquettes like sanitary towel. How long since you soaked up our dam of folly? I cannot paint to you what knowledge was nor can I teach you the fire in Jonathan Swift’s heart as he wrote If. I can’t teach you the swirl of half-familiar, half-strange songs of Gabriel Okara’s Piano and Drums. I can’t teach… Read more

Sam Omatseye is a novelist, playwright, poet and newspaper columnist. He is the chairman of the editorial board of The Nation newspapers, and author of My Name is Okoro, Crocodile Girl and others. In this interrraction with Edozie Udeze, he talks about his interest in literature, how it all began and how he is so enamoured of the Bible and more What sort of books do you like most? I am an omnivore. I consume everything from fiction to biology… Read more

Child labourers across the world have grown to 152 million, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said. A new report by the global job watch body noted that child labour declined in 2000, but the pace slowed down between 2012 and 2016. On current trends, 121 million children would still be engaged in child labour in 2025. However, the report stressed the need for improving legal protections, labour market governance, social protections, access to quality education and social dialogue between… Read more

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals may be under threat with the alarming figure of 40 million in modern slavery and 152 million children in child labour across the globe. New research developed by the ILO and the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has revealed the scale of modern slavery around the world. The data, released at the United Nations General Assembly in New… Read more

A six-year old Boko Haram victim, Ali Ahmadu, has survived a corrective surgery in his spinal cord. He can now walk, after 14 days in the hospital. While being ferried to Dubai on September 10, all he could mutter repeatedly in Hausa was: “Ina so insake tafiya da kafana...Don Allah ataimakamu...Don Allah. Ina so in je makaranta”. (“I want to begin to walk with my legs again. For God’s sake, assist me. I want to go to school”). Now Ali… Read more

Rising actress, Paschaline Alex Okoli, popular in the series Jenifa’s Diary as Cordelia, has debunked the story making the round that she has a child, hence her ability to interpret the role of a mother perfectly in the series. Speaking on her role as Obinna’s mother, the actress who is currently moving between locations said having played the role to perfection and able to get across to her audience makes her a great actor. “If I played that role so… Read more

Nollywood actress and preacher, Eucharia Anunobi, has lost her only child, Raymond Ekwu, to complications arising from sickle cell anaemia. He died at 15. The deceased Raymond, who was the only child from the union between the actress and her former husband, died on Tuesday, according to information. The news of his death was posted by Adekeye E. Tosin on Twitter. Adekeye implored Nigerians to pray for the woman who must be devastated with the death of her only child… Read more

All hands should be on deck to ensure that Nigeria reverses its data on perinatal deaths experts in feto-maternal medicine and other allied stakeholders have said. According to the Association of Fetomaternal Medicine Specialists of Nigeria (AFEMSON) President, Prof Olufemi Kuti, Nigeria is one of the 26 countries yet to record reduction in maternal mortality, as stated by the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs). He spoke at the maiden edition of the association and its General Meeting and Scientific Conference. The… Read more

THE Federation of Muslim Women's Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) Oyo State chapter has appealed to the state government to increase its budgetary provision for child and family health. FOMWAN President and the team leader for the Partnership for Advocacy for Child and Family Health (PACFaH), Alhaja Simiat Ogundiran, made the appeal during an advocacy visit to the Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr Abimbola Adekanmbi. Alhaja Ogundiran noted that increased government intervention was needed in the areas of routine immunisation,… Read more

The fourth edition of Mother and Child Exhibition will hold on July 8 and 9 at Havilah Event Centre at Oniru on Victoria Island in Lagos. In a statement, the organiser, Mr Segun Opebi, noted that the exhibition will showcase products and services for children between one year and 12 years. Opebi said the exhibition would ensure that expectant mothers, nursing mothers and children get quality products and training on how to live a healthy life. He said: “We want… Read more